Trestle.



OQZBNT.

TEESTLE.

APPLIGATIONTILED P3318. 1911.

Patented Jan. 9, 1912."

Inventor OTTO ZEN'I, 0F LITTLE RIVER, KANSAS.

TRESTLE.

Specification ofIetters Patent.

Patented Jan. 9,1912.

Application filedFebruary 8, 1911. Serial No. 607,276.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, OTToZnNT, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Little River, in the county of Rice andState of Kansas, have invented a new and usefnl Trestle, of which thefollowing is a specification.

It is the object of this invention toprovide a collapsible trestle forthe support of temporary scaffolds, and for other purposes, soconstructed that the constituent elements of the trestle may bemaintained in various adjusted positions, whereby to change thedimensions of the trestle.

Another object of the invention is to pro-- vide novel means for holdingthe constituent elements of the trestle firmly together, to effect arigid supporting structure.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the combi nation andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope ofwhat is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawings,Figure 1 shows the invention in perspective; Fig. 2 is avertical section taken longitudinally of the legs of the trestle; Fig. 3is a perspective of one end of one of the secondary elements of thelegs; Fig. 4 is a detail perspective showing the connecting elementwhereby the beam of the portions of the trestle. are. united; and Fig. 5is a transverse section of one of the braces whereby the legs areunited.

The legs 1 of the trestle consist of diverging primary members 2,preferably fashioned from channel iron or steel, having their open facesdisposed toward each other. Secured to the upper ends of the primary-members 2, are angle brackets 31.

movement between the elements 2 and 3 will be prevented, the parts 2 and3 being further held against movement, when desired, by means of setscrews 6, adapted to be mounted in openings 7 in the side flanges of theprimary members 2, the set screws 6 registering in openings 8 in thesecondary portions 3 of the legs.

The secondary members 3 of the legs are united by braces, these bracesconsisting of parts 9 and 10, the parts 9 being secured to one of thesecondary members 3, while the parts 10 are pivoted, as shown at 11, tothe opposite secondary member 3, the last named secondary member beingcut away, as shown at 12, so that the part 10 may have limited pivotalmovement. Halved into the parts 9 and 10, as shown at 13, is a bar 14,the bar 14 being secured to the member 10 by means of a set screw 15 orthe like. The member 9 of the brace structure is slotted longitudinallyas shown at 16, and through this slot 16, into engagement with the bar14, extends a set screw 17. The bar 14 is provided along its bottom,with a flange 18, adapted to extend beneath the parts 9 and 10 of thebrace, to insure rigidity in the brace.

From the foregoing it will be seen that, by loosening the set screws 5and 6, the secondary parts 3 of the legs may be telescoped within theprimary parts 1, to lengthen or to shorten the legs, the cooperationbetween the elements 9, 10 and 14 being such that by loosening thescrews 15 and 17 the brace, involving the parts 10, 9 and 14, may belengthened or shortened at will, as will be necessary when the relativepositions between the parts 2 and 3 of the legs are changed, when thelegs are elongated or shortened.

Resting in the angle brackets 31, is a beam consisting of parts 19having openings in their adjacent end faces, to receive a securing bar20. Removable pins 21 are inserted transversely through the beam parts19, to engage the bar 20, the construction being such that the effectivelength of the beam portion of the trestle may be lengthened or shortenedat will.

In order to hold the angle brackets 31 against the elements 19, a turnbuckle structure is provided, the same including threaded members 22,the heads of which are adapted to fit in seats 23, formed at the upper,ends of the slots 4, the members 22 being connected by a sleeve 24.Obviously, by rotating the sleeve 24, the angle brackets 31 will bedrawn closely against the beam parts 19. Owing to the fact that theseats 23 communicate with the slots 4, the turn buckle structures may bemounted at various adjusted positions in the slots 4, when desired. Atthis point it may be noted profitably, refer-ring to Fig. 3, that theupper ends of the secondary members 3 of the legs are notched, as shownat 25, so as to clear the elements 22 of the turn buckle structures, theupper ends of the portions 3 of the legs being beveled as shown at 26,so as to fit in space denoted by the numeral 27 in Fig. 2, and existingbetween the primary members 2 of the legs and the outer faces of theangle brackets 31.

, The beam members 19 are connected with the portions 3 of the legs, bydiagonally disposed braces, comprising rods 28, the remote ends 29 ofwhich are secured to the members I 19 and 3, the adjacent ends of therods 28 being overlapped upon each other and adjustably secured togetherby means of a pin and opening connection 30, or in any other desiredmanner, so that the diagonal braces which unite the beam with the legs,may be elongated and shortened, as will be necessary when the relativepositions of the elements 2 and 3 are changed.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the legs 1 of the trestle may beelongated at will, the effective length of the beam structure 19 beingcapable of adjustment, by manipulating the pins 21, so as to engage thebar 20 at successive points. Moreover, when the adjacent ends of thebeam members are spaced apart slightly, as shown in Fig. 1, a suitableprojection upon a scaffold, resting upon the beam members, 19, may beengaged between the adjacent ends of the beam members, the constructionbeing such that the scaffolds cannot slide longitudinally of the beammembers.

The structure, it will beunderstood, may be fashioned from any desiredmaterials,

and when the device is set up for use, a rigid support for scaffolds andthe like will be provided, the construction, however, being such thatthe device may readily be knocked down and stored in small compass. Thesecondary members 3 of the legs, may be removed entirely, the primaryportions 2 of the legs, in such instance, serving as the immediatesupport for the trestle.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed is 1. ln'a trestle,diverging legs comprising primary channel members having longitudinalslots therein, provided with enlarged seats at their upper ends; turnbuckles engaged terminally with the seats; secondary members slidable inthe primary members; securing devices adjustably binding the primary andsecondary members together, the securing devices being movable in theslots, with the primary members; and a beam connected with the legs.

2. In a trestle, diverging legs comprising primary channel membershaving longitu-.

dinal slots therein, provided with enlarged seats at their upper ends;turn buckles engaged terminally in the seats; secondary members slidablein the primary members; securing devices adjustably binding the primaryand secondary members together, the securing devices being movable inthe slots, with the primary members; angle brackets secured to theprimary members, adjacent their upper ends; a beam resting in the anglebrackets; the secondary members being slotted at their upper ends, toclear the turn buckles, and to permit the upper ends of the secondarymembers to abut against the angle brackets.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have heretoafiixed'my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

o'rTo ZENT.

'Witnesses:

' WILLIAM G. GREENBANK, JESSE H. FRANKEBURGER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe 3 Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

